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Strong mag. 5.9 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 151 km east of Nukalofa, Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu, on Tuesday, Apr 19, 2022 at 5:33 pm (GMT +13) -

$Strong mag. 5.9 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 151 km east of Nukalofa, Nuku\'alofa, Tongatapu, on Tuesday, Apr 19, 2022 at 5:33 pm (GMT +13)$ $Strong mag. 5.9 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 151 km east of Nukalofa, Nuku\'alofa, Tongatapu, on Tuesday, Apr 19, 2022 at 5:33 pm (GMT +13)$

Strong magnitude 5.9 earthquake at 10 km depth

19 Apr 04:43 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 10 minutes.
19 Apr 04:45: Magnitude recalculated from 5.7 to 5.9. Epicenter location corrected by 27 km (17 mi) towards NW.
... [show all] ...
20 Apr 05:16: Epicenter location corrected by 5.2 km (3.2 mi) towards ESE.

Update Tue, 19 Apr 2022, 04:54

Significant 6.0 quake hits near Nukalofa, Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu, Tonga

6.0 quake 19 Apr 5:33 pm (GMT +13)

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported a magnitude 6.0 quake in Tonga near Nukalofa, Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu, only 20 minutes ago. The earthquake hit in the afternoon on Tuesday, April 19th, 2022, at 5:33 pm local time at a shallow depth of 10 km. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) which listed the quake at magnitude 5.9. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 6.0, and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 6.2.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In 'Ohonua (pop. 1,200) located 88 km from the epicenter, Kolonga (pop. 1,100) 101 km away, Lapaha (pop. 8,000) 106 km away, Nukalofa (pop. 22,400) 115 km away, Nuku'alofa (pop. 22,400) 115 km away, and Haveluloto (pop. 3,400) 116 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

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Earthquake details

Date & time	Apr 19, 2022 04:33:41 UTC -
Local time at epicenter	Tuesday, Apr 19, 2022 at 5:33 pm (GMT +13)
Status	Confirmed
Magnitude	5.9
Depth	10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	21.5088°S / 173.8027°W (South Pacific Ocean, Tonga)
Antipode	21.509°N / 6.197°E
Shaking intensity	Light shaking
Felt	4 reports
Primary data source	USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcano	Unnamed 21.38°S/175.65°W (192 km / 119 mi)
Nearby towns and cities	120 km (75 mi) E of ‘Ohonua (Ohonua) (pop: 1,240) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 137 km (85 mi) ESE of Kolonga (pop: 1,100) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 151 km (94 mi) ESE of Nukalofa (Nuku'alofa) (pop: 22,400) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 151 km (94 mi) ESE of Nuku‘alofa (pop: 22,400) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 197 km (122 mi) SSE of Bangai (Pangai) (pop: 1,740) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 318 km (198 mi) S of Neiafu (pop: 4,320) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 148 km (92 mi) ESE of Amsterdam Island (pop: 75,000) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quake	Overcast Clouds 27°C (81 F), humidity: 71%, wind: 8 m/s (16 kts) from E
Estimated seismic energy released	4.5 x 10¹³ joules (12.4 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 10676 tons of TNT or 0.7 atomic bombs!) \| about seismic energy

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Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.

Mag.	Depth	Location	Source
5.9	10 km	120 Km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga	USGS
6.0	10 km	TONGA	EMSC
5.9	10 km	Tonga Islands	RaspberryShake
5.9	10 km	Tonga: Near Nouméa	RENASS
6.0	52 km	Tonga Islands	GeoAu
6.2	17 km	Tonga Islands [Sea: Tonga]	INGV
6.1	10 km	Tonga Islands	GFZ

Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in Tonga

User reports for this quake (4)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

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Translate

Tofoa Nuku'slofa Tonga (152.8 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)

kingdom of tonga (103.4 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : a shake then rolling motion

Work / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : I felt scary

Haveluloto, Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Aftershocks

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (2 quakes)

Date and time	Mag Depth	Location	Details
May 30, 2022 18:44 43 weeks ago	4.9 10 km	South Pacific Ocean, 195 km E of Nukalofa, Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu	More
Apr 19, 2022 14:08 49 weeks ago	4.6 10 km	South Pacific Ocean, 148 km E of Nukalofa, Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu	More

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